Acne Studios Opens in the CBD

Launching its highly anticipated denim line and marking a foray into accessories.

Photography: Jacqui Turk

1/30

Photography: Jacqui Turk

1/30

Photography: Jacqui Turk

1/30

Published on 27 July 2017

by Dimitri Tricolas

Acne Studios’s signature is distinct minimalism. For more than 20 years the Swedish label – founded by creative lead Jonny Johansson in 1996 – has cultivated its status of creating designs that are both innovative and timeless, and their new CBD store is no exception.

With a flagship in Paddington, Acne’s second store looks entirely different.

Clever lighting, stainless steel and premium materials loom large – a signature trope of Acne’s stores worldwide. Long, low-set windows are designed to soften sunlight and showcase the interior lighting installation – dubbed the “mushroom” by the company’s internal design team. Drenched in pastel, acid-yellow and framed by curved, stainless-steel walls, 700 futuristic fungus-shaped fixtures sprout from the lowered ceiling to create a sense of atmosphere and guide shoppers through the collection.

King Street will stock the label’s latest releases with some additional seasonal items thrown in. Shoppers will find the label’s current experiments with nostalgic textures and patterns, thick double pleats, exaggerated collars and lapels, and elegant juxtapositions of pastels with neutral autumnal tones on the shelves.

“We have always defined our path as we go along. Our ambition is not to take up a specific space but to continue to strive to evolve and constantly move forward. We are always working on redefining and pushing our product offering,” says Schiller.

Blå Konst – Acne’s highly anticipated denim offering – will be available alongside its first accessory line. “We have now also launched bags, eyewear and small leather goods,” says Schiller. “Some of our new sneakers are amazing.”

What’s next after opening stores in Beijing, Hong Kong and Milan? “We’ll probably slow down a bit…” he says.

But in terms of the brand’s rate of growth, turning over around 200 million Euros this year alone, it definitely won’t be moving at a glacial pace.